How is the Arab world using smartphones? [Infographic]

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Two phones out of five in the Middle East are smartphones, according to new data from the International Data Corporation. But how smartphone owners in the region are using their phones might surprise you.

According to this new infographic by Froot, an astonishing 40% of smartphone users in the MENA region check their phones less than twice per day. Egyptian smartphone users check their devices the least, with 47% of users pulling out their phones just once a day or not at all. This data might help put to rest the stereotype that smartphone users are chained to their devices (at least in this region).

The picture of Egyptian smartphone users gets fuzzier still: apparently only 50% of Egyptian users regularly use an application, and only 55% browse the internet.

Without these two activities, the advantages of having a smartphone drop off sharply. If the primary activities of MENA smartphone users are texting and talking, why are people spending their money on smart devices?